Writer-director Gregory Nava, actor Gael García Bernal, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and Gabriel Figueroa Flores will celebrate the life and career of the renowned Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa on Tuesday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will feature an onstage discussion and excerpts from many of Figueroa’s greatest cinematic achievements. The program serves as a prelude to the exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art and Film,” co-presented by the Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will open at LACMA later this month.
Figueroa (1907–1997) is often referred to as “The Fourth Muralist” of Mexico, and his seminal work contributed to the establishment of a visual culture and national identity in post-revolutionary Mexico. His films include such Mexican classics as “María Candelaria,” “Enamorada,” “La perla” and “Víctimas del pecado,” which stand alongside works for such diverse directors as John Ford (“The Fugitive”), Luis Buñuel (“Los olvidados”), Don Siegel (“Two Mules for Sister Sara”) and John Huston (“The Night of the Iguana”). Figueroa’s dazzling black-and-white cinematography for the latter film earned him an Oscar® nomination in 1964.
Tickets for “An Academy Tribute to Gabriel Figueroa” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticketed seating is unreserved. For more information and guest updates, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
The exhibition “Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa – Art and Film” will open on Sunday, September 22, at LACMA’s Art of the Americas building. The exhibition examines Figueroa’s prolific career through film clips, paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, posters and archival documents. It also includes a range of works by contemporary artists and filmmakers that reflect on Figueroa’s legacy. For more information, visit www.lacma.org.
